Swiss National Bank Lowers Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 21,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.19% of Williams-Sonoma worth $24,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $304.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $286.22 and its 200 day moving average is $225.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $109.44 and a one year high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.19.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.